San Blas’ Handicraft Fair
Handicrafts come to Cuzco from all of Peru’s three regions, its coast, mountains, and jungle. Because the city is cosmopolitan, travelers who come from many parts of the world bring their own handicrafts to sell here.
I met a tourist who was visiting our city. She was Argentine and brought her handicrafts to sell here. They included purses, wallets, cardholders, and notebook covers. For this she uses recycled packaging for juices and drinks that she finds in her path. She put her work together and then exhibited it on Tandapata Street in San Blas.
Just like her there are numerous visitors who arrive here and show their handicrafts in the Imperial City’s streets.
Our ancestors left us an inheritance of their art in weavings, carvings, pottery, and sculpture. Their work appears in our museums and archeological centers. You can see their great artistic ability. They carved stone, and created hand tools to construct the great city of Machu Picchu and the monuments of Cusco. They made out temples and huacas. They did all this while respecting nature and without damaging it.
Today you can find artisan centers and stores scattered throughout the city, from the Main Plaza to all the rest of the city’s monumental core. There you will find for sale sweaters, necklaces, paintings, gold jewelry, copper and silver jewelry as well as jewelry from other minerals. In these stores you will find all kinds of objects that are made by hand with Andean and national colors and designs.
The handicrafts in Cusco come from all over the world. Our city is filled with beauty and energy that find reflection in handicrafts. Visitors travel and learn about the history of many places at the same time they buy handicrafts to take home as gifts to their families and loved ones as a token of love, friendship, and warmth.
If you are looking for some handicraft to give as a gift there is no better place to visit than the traditional neighborhood of San Blas which is also known as the craftsman neighborhood. In its narrow streets, whether night or day, you will almost always find roaming vendors who offer crafts. They display their work on sidewalks where they have spread out in order to display their crafts for passersby and any interested person.
In the same neighborhood you will also find the most recognized artists of Cusco who have global reputations. You will find wood carvers, sculptors, painters, weavers, and more. Every weekend the craftsmen and women hold a fair where from Friday through Sunday the members of the Association of Craftsmen of San Blas show their work in the main square of the neighborhood. It begins at 8 am and goes through 5:30 pm. In the fair you will see visitors who are fascinated with the art and who converse with the artists while buying their work.
Artisans are part of the history of our world. In every spot on earth people create and make objects. If you visit Cusco you almost cannot leave without buying a souvenir and our artisans offer a wide variety of beauty for your pleasure.
